Portland Infill | Northwest Portland

[maccoinnich]

Presentation [62 MB] and Staff Report for 1111 NW 16th Ave. Project was approved on Thursday.

[NickO2]

The huge ESCO site is being wiped off the map.

What's happening here?

[maccoinnich]

TBD. Portland Diamond Project (MLB) put in an offer, but I believe other developers did too.

[zilfondel]

Yeah, lots of competition to redevelop it.

[bvpcvm]

Anyone know anything about 1831 nw 28th?

[NickO2]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

TBD. Portland Diamond Project (MLB) put in an offer, but I believe other developers did too.

Thanks.

Something like this then.

[winstonLT5]

NW Portland site eyed for baseball stadium sold to another group of developers
Updated 1:19 PM; Posted 12:42 PM
By Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive

A large Northwest Portland industrial site eyed for a potential Major League Baseball stadium has been sold to a group of longtime real-estate investors and developers.

The sale sidelines a group angling to bring a baseball team to the city, but it doesn't totally preclude the possibility of building a ballpark on the site, one of the buyers said.

The seller is ESCO Corp., a maker of mining and construction equipment that was founded more than a century ago in Portland.

The $33 million deal, which closed Friday...

...(continues)

[Derek]

It’s PPS or bust in my opinion. Nice, central location. Already well served by both the MAX and the Streetcar. Huge potential when they finally cap I-5.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Derek

It’s PPS or bust in my opinion. Nice, central location. Already well served by both the MAX and the Streetcar. Huge potential when they finally cap I-5.

No other site is as good as that one, the sites in NW are interesting but would require massive improvements to transit to be viable without reworking the whole area for cars.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

No other site is as good as that one, the sites in NW are interesting but would require massive improvements to transit to be viable without reworking the whole area for cars.

all true, and if you add NWDA into the mix there's a whole slew of impediments to that particular site (ESCO) actually working.

[maccoinnich]

ESCO buyers not high on return to baseball

A group of local investors is buying 22.5 acres of ESCO Corp. property in the Northwest Industrial Area.
Although the property has been identified as a possible site for a major league baseball stadium, the investor group has other plans. It envisions creative office and flex industrial uses, reflecting the recently adopted CC2035 Plan that transitions this area from heavy industrial zoning to a mixed employment designation.

The buyers include:
Warren Rosenfeld, president of a metal recycling company located next to the ESCO property.
Al Solheim, a Pearl District developer.
Bob Walsh of Walsh Construction.
Bob Ames, a Pearl developer and former bank executive.
Noel Johnson, a principal in Cairn Pacific LLC, the leading developer in the Slabtown area.
Roger Burpee, a real estate investor.
Greg Burpee, a real estate broker.
Scott Tillman, an East Coast developer.
There is also an unnamed investor.

Johnson, who is managing the project for the investment group, lives on Northwest Raleigh Street a few blocks from the ESCO site.

While the ESCO property is not zoned for housing and the group does not intend to seek rezoning, he said the line between office and residential buildings has become blurred. Office buildings now typically have couches, nap rooms, kitchens and roof decks—the amenities formerly limited to residential buildings, he said. Meanwhile, in his recent residential projects, Johnson said, about half of the units are occupied by people who work from their homes.

...continues at the NW Examiner.

[urbanlife]

That seems like a better use for that property than a baseball stadium. For a ballpark, the area lacks transportation options and would require major parking infrastructure to work.

[johnliu]

Excerpts from article:

"Johnson expects most of the site will eventually have two- or three-story structures devoted to creative/high-tech/engineering companies."

"Johnson, who joined the Northwest District Association board only weeks before the sale opportunity arose, wants to overcome the sense of a “steel curtain” separating the industrial sanctuary from the residential neighborhood along Northwest Vaughn Street.

"Some foresee serious traffic and parking congestion if development of the scale Johnson speaks of occurs. He thinks that can be overcome as transformational change is about to impact urban transportation

"the buyers will be contributing $500,000— an obligation inherited from ESCO—toward infrastructure improvements around the Northwest 23rd and Vaughn intersection.

"PDP spokesperson John McIsaac, who grew up in Willamette Heights, said baseball backers have identified two other possible sites in Northwest Portland.

The more appealing of these is Terminal II, owned by the Port of Portland. A non-disclosure agreement has been signed by the Port and PDP.

“We love it,” McIsaac said of the 49-acre site at 3556 NW Front Ave. “Number one, it’s on the waterfront. It’s a beautiful location. Every week I get more excited about this property.”

The Diamond Project’s hope would be to rezone the surrounding area to allow up to 8,000 housing units. Approaching such density would necessitate tall buildings, a concept McIsaac worries might be opposed by the Northwest District Association.

“The era when a billionaire baseball owner can come in and change the zoning is over,” Johnson said. “My view from 15 years of involvement is that’s no longer how City Hall is working. Portland is a multi-stakeholder community.”

Issues of social equity must also be considered in redirecting city resources toward major league sports, said Johnson."

Owners of ESCO property don't seem so hot on the baseball stadium idea.

Look at ATT Park, which people seem to like. Its a privately financed stadium like the Portland stadium will have to be.

Building ATT Park in SF cost $360MM 18 years ago. What would that cost now - $400MM? $500MM? And how much to get MAX there, plus all the road/infra improvements? Are we talking a $500MM+ or $600MM+ project?

It was financed partly by a $100MM sale of naming rights. Will naming rights for a brand new MLB team in a second-tier market fetch that much? Also $72MM from selling 16K seats. Is there that much $ and interest in Portland? $15MM from city. Will CoP contribute significantly to building a pro sports stadium?

[subterranean]

Off topic, but I'd love it if a MAX line went from downtown to NW, continued north and crossed at the Burlington Northern rail bridge, made a couple stops in St. Johns/Portsmouth, and then continued on into downtown Vancouver. Just daydreaming...but that would make things a heck of a lot easier on me and my wife.

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Off topic, but I'd love it if a MAX line went from downtown to NW, continued north and crossed at the Burlington Northern rail bridge, made a couple stops in St. Johns/Portsmouth, and then continued on into downtown Vancouver. Just daydreaming...but that would make things a heck of a lot easier on me and my wife.

I think that's a perfect commuter rail alignment with one stop in St. Johns, and one or more stops in Vancouver, depending on how far north it goes. It could go as far south as Oregon City..

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

I think that's a perfect commuter rail alignment with one stop in St. Johns, and one or more stops in Vancouver, depending on how far north it goes. It could go as far south as Oregon City..

Oregon City? A commuter rail should run all the way south to at least Salem if not further.

[maccoinnich]

Staff Report for 1727 NW Hoyt St, which recommends approval.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Staff Report for 1727 NW Hoyt St, which recommends approval.

Drawing Part I [88 MB] and Part II [109 MB].

[maccoinnich]

Notice of a Pre-Application Conference for NW 29th & Wilson:

A Pre-Application Conference to discuss a land division to create 14 lots for attached housing on the south portion of the site (R1 zoning). The proposal also includes preparation of parcels and infrastructure for future development on the EX portion of the site. There will also be a discussion regarding creating three of the attached housing lots though lot confirmation and property line adjustment.

A previous land use review application for development on the north half of the site, submitted in late 2016 IIRC, looks like it was withdrawn / never deemed complete.

[urbanlife]

That is surprising that it is designated as R1 Zoning, this locations looks like it would be better suited for an apartment building, but at least it does allow for attached housing.